laissez-faire

[les-ey fair, le-sey fer] / ˌlɛs eɪ ˈfɛər, lɛ seɪ ˈfɛr /

NOUN

abstention from interference

Synonyms

WEAK

do-nothing policy for the most free enterprise free hand inaction indifference individualism laisser aller laisser passer latitude let-alone policy live and let live neutrality noninterference nonintervention nonrestriction part unrestrained by law free trade permissiveness

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Burden’s family legacy was fractured by infidelity and a laissez faire attitude, at least in the public sphere, toward men behaving badly.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026

There’s a certain live-and-let-live, laissez faire quality to eating like this.

From Salon • Jul. 23, 2024

That laissez faire approach is starting to change.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 27, 2021

Will we return to a more laissez faire system of bar crawls in the future?

From Washington Post • Jan. 5, 2021

Dickens published his Hard Times in 1854, and constantly attacked the system of laissez faire in the columns of Household Words.

From A Short History of English Liberalism by Blease, Walter Lyon

Vocabulary lists containing laissez-faire

French Terms Used in English

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The Gene

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STAAR Government & Citizenship 2

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